Should You Give Him An Expensive Gift?

Okay ladies, if you have found yourself lucky enough to have a date scheduled this Valentine’s Day, here are some gift giving tips to ensure that you keep the romance blooming with your man, rather than wilting.

Valentine’s is the time for your guy to pamper you and win you over, not the reverse. You can be assured he is actively pursuing you if you feel slightly indebted to him. You just don’t want him to think he owes you. Keep that in mind as you shop for the perfect Valentine’s card and gift for your lucky guy. Whatever you do, don’t buy him expensive gifts or try to match or better what you think he will give you.

Creativity and thoughtfulness is what you need an abundance of, not money. And pay close attention to your man’s personal taste, interests and hobbies.
Gift ideas for new love:

Your mission during the early stages of a relationship is to inspire your man to continue seeing you while you decide if he’s a keeper. So take it slowly and refrain from advertising your feelings before he is ready to reveal his. Don’t use your first Valentine’s together to be your opportunity to reveal your undying love. Let HIM make that move. So ladies, if you give anything at all, think creativity and free or very inexpensive, making sure it’s personalized to his taste.
1. Make a Valentine’s Day card that is also a special invitation for a home cooked dinner by you. Have fun as you describe each item on the menu from appetizer to dessert. Hopefully you know him well enough to know his taste in food.
2. Make a card which includes 3 or 4 coupons for him to redeem. Include coupons for things he loves that you may be nervous to try or perhaps you disliked—be it sports, food or a hobby.
a. If he loves basketball and you don’t, offer to watch an entire NBA game
with him as he teaches you the rules.
b. Offer to help him wash his car.
c. Put in a coupon for a foot rub.
d. Listen to him practice a speech for work.
3. If your guy likes coffee, give him some Starbucks or other coffee treats. They can be inexpensive and certainly will be appreciated.

Have fun and be creative. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. He’ll be impressed you have actually listened when you hit a bulls-eye to his personal taste! Remember you are aiming for casual and fun. You want your gift to imply, “Hey, I’d like to get to know you better,” not “I love you truly, deeply, madly.”

Gift ideas for the ongoing or exclusive relationship:
You can risk giving a small gift if you and your guy have been together a while and are exclusive, but not yet engaged. But still, don’t out-give him. Even if you think he may propose to you this evening, don’t come prepared with lavish gifts in return. This is HIS night to shine and yours to enjoy.

Gift ideas:
a. If he has a favorite sports team, get him something with the mascot on it—be it a OU, USC, or Texas Longhorn hat, t-shirt, lounge pants, key chain, frame, etc.
b. Buy inexpensive, yet thoughtful accessories to his favorite hobby be it golf, hunting, football, electronic games. If he has a hobby, there are accessories.
c. Buy him downloads for his Ipod.
d. Get him a new cover for his cell phone.
e. Hopefully you know his taste well enough at this stage to pick out some cologne for him.
f. If you have great taste in fashion, buy him a new sweater or other item of clothing. If you are insecure about your fashion sense, go to the mall and ask a sales lady at a hip clothing store.
g. Create 3 or 4 coupons for you to do some favors for him that he knows you may rather not do, like help him clean is car or house, give him an hour foot or back rub, attend his favorite sporting event, etc.
h. IF he is into golf, perhaps set him up to golf at a hard to get into golf course through some of your connections.

For Married Couple:
By this stage of your relationship you have established how your man handles this holiday and what kind of gifts, if any, your man lavishes. With no fear of scaring him away with announcements of your undying love, you are free to buy into the whole commercial gushy gift giving side of Valentine’s day--from mushy cards, candy, flowers, cutesy themed underwear, t-shirts and so on.
But don’t miss out on the opportunity to revisit your feelings for one another by giving a well thought out gift tailored to your man’s personal taste

Here a few gift giving tips to rekindle the flames of a long time love:
1. Write out a letter listing 100 things you love about your man.
2. Put together a fun gift basket filled with things he’ll like, be it his favorite muchies, sports accessories or gadgets for his hobby.
3. Create the coupons mentioned in the above gift lists.
4. Buy him a hip new shirt, sweater or outfit that he would normally not wear. We are all guilty of falling into ruts in our style sometimes. Here’s your chance to help take a few years off your man.

No matter what stage of love you find yourself this Valentine’s day, make any gift the perfect memorable gift by taking the time to pay attention to his interests, using your creativity rather than pocket book, and personalizing it just for him.